Chapter 135: [Bonus Chapter] Unmasking the Monster
[Notice for sensitive readers: this Chapter contains abuse and sexual assault. If you think you may have a hard time reading it, you can email me at [email protected] for a summary or message me on Facebook.]
- DEX -
The whole way back to the hotel feels harder. I don’t want to return, and all the feelings that were streaming behind me, unable to catch up are now slamming into my chest. I was walking with the wind and now I’m walking against it.
Sorrow overtakes anger, and it’s then that I consider the possibility that Lawson is hurting as much as I am. Maybe he is capable of being severely wounded. Maybe this is an opportunity for him to change.
My feet and head and every other part feel heavy when I walk back into the suite. There is take-out on the coffee table in front of the sofa and chairs, and the bitter cold that encases my heart keeping my brother out starts to thaw.
With a heavy sigh, I approach the closed door of Lawson’s room and pause there, staring at the floor. He’s probably asleep. I’ve been gone for hours.
As soon as I start to turn to go back to my room, there’s a long drawn out cry that abruptly cuts off like someone is sobbing and struggling to catch their breath. It sets my hairs on end because it didn’t come from Lawson. That cry came from a woman.
I bust open the door to find my brother with a stranger pinned against the wall, her face red and streaked with tears. His hand encircles her throat, and he’s growling and thrusting into her so forcefully that he doesn’t even hear me enter until her eyes flick to mine and shine with hope.
When Lawson turns and sees me, he doesn’t have time to mask the twisted, monstrous fury contorting his features. In that moment, he doesn’t even look like the same person. He’s possessed, and I’m fucking frozen in shock like someone slapped me.
His hand falls from her neck, and she coughs and sucks in a series of sharp breaths.
"Please," she rasps, and that’s when I snap out of the paralysis that gripped me and charge straight for my brother.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" I snarl, grabbing his shirt and shoving him into the bathroom before he even has a chance to tuck his shit back in his pants.
He slips and falls sideways, landing hard on his bare ass with his pants around his thighs, glaring up at me with murderous eyes. Good. Now we feel the same.
"Stay here," I demand, slamming the door shut and wishing to God there was a way to lock him in. But it doesn’t matter. He’s not getting away.
The woman has already fixed her dress and is scrambling after her shoes. I stand there watching her at a complete loss about what to do.
"Are you okay?" Stupid question. I can already see the dark marks appearing on her neck from here. Those are going to be some gnarly bruises.
She laughs nervously without any humor and avoids looking at me, hands visibly trembling at her sides. "Yes," she mutters. "Thanks."
"Do you want me to call the police?"
The bathroom door is ripped open with my raging brother on the other side. "The police? It’s her fucking job to take what I give her!"
My fist connects with his jaw before I have time to think about it, and he spins, face slamming into the door frame. I shove him back into the bathroom and close the door again, rage so large and consuming that I’m not even sure I’m human anymore. This must be what inspired the Hulk character. Pure, unrestrained rage.
After taking a few steadying breaths, I turn back to face the woman again, but she’s no longer there. I don’t blame her. I probably look just as terrifying as Lawson right now. But I can’t just let her disappear without making sure she’s okay.
Grabbing Lawson’s phone and wallet from the nightstand so that he doesn’t get any ideas, I find her paused at the door exiting the suite. It looks like she set out to leave but can’t bring herself to actually do it.
"I’m sorry, miss. What do you need? A ride? Can I call someone for you?"
She turns but doesn’t look up, instead focused on her trembling hands that are clasped tightly together.
"Money," she says, voice thick with tears. "I need money. He owes me."
The fire in my chest curls in on itself, becoming something painful—a blooming ache for the life of this stranger who was unfortunate enough to find herself in my brother’s path. I open Lawson’s wallet and grab everything he has, flicking through to make sure it should be enough, and it is. There’s easily a thousand in hundreds.
"So that was consensual?" I ask, but it doesn’t matter. She was obviously not okay with his behavior, and he clearly wasn’t listening.
"Yes, it was consensual," she mutters, wiping more tears away. "Just against my rules."
"He is out of control," I say between clenched teeth, more to myself than her. "Do you have a jacket?"
I hand all the money to her, and she glances up with big brown eyes that are going to haunt me. I can tell just by looking at her that she’s been through hell and this is only the most recent nightmare—a John who gets off on physical abuse.
She shakes her head. One of my hooded sweatshirts is hanging on the coat rack, so I grab it and put it around her shoulders.
"What’s your name?" I ask.
Maybe it’s an invasion of privacy or something, I don’t know the rules, but it feels wrong to just send her on her way without even knowing her name. I could always carve it into Lawson’s dick so he’s haunted by the pain of this night just like she will likely be.
Her brows thread together at the question, obviously not comfortable answering it or not comfortable with me. Both are understandable.
"Forget it." I wave it off. "It’s okay."
"Auraya," she says quickly.
My heart stops beating. Truly, it just... stops.
"What did you say?"
Her eyes cut up to mine, fear pooling in them once again.
"I mean, I’m sorry... that’s just what he kept calling me."
My expression must turn into something truly terrifying, because she takes the opportunity to scurry out before I can say anything else.
I stare at the door once she’s gone and then reach up to lock it, the thunderous rush of blood pounding in my ears. Apparently my heart started working again.
Everything narrows to a point in my mind—all the extraneous bits of stimuli and information going completely black except for one bright, burning light with my brother in the center of it.
I fish my phone out of my pocket and dial my aunt. When she answers, her voice is so happy that I flinch.
"I need Zio or Luci to get back to me," I tell her, eyes lifting to the door of Lawson’s room.
"Is everything alright?" She asks on a hushed breath.
"No. Tell them I’ve killed my brother."
